On October 23, 2011, the Maplewood Rotary Club partnered with local business owner Nancy Marshall of Nancy’s Fancy Antiques to present the First Annual What’s It Worth? Antique Expo.

Maplewood, NJ – October 23, 2011 – Maplewood Rotary Club and local business, Nancy’s Fancy Antiques, presented the First Annual What’s It Worth? Antique Expo, held at the Burgdorff Center on October 23rd from 11am to 4pm in Maplewood, NJ. There was a $25 donation at the door. All proceeds will go to the Maplewood Rotary Club Local Needs Fund.

The What’s It Worth? Antique Expo was a fun-filled day featuring games and prizes, and, for a fraction of the cost of an actual appraisal, participants could bring up to two antiques for top-notch, professional appraisers to give verbal evaluations. Categories include: Stamps, Coins, Sports Memorabilia, Toys, Trains, Collectibles, Estate and Vintage Jewelry, Furniture, Porcelain, Pottery, Clocks, Watches, Photos, Prints, Musical Instruments and Fine Art-Paintings

Noah Miller, President of Maplewood Rotary, noted, “I am excited that Maplewood Rotary and Nancy’s Fancy Antiques worked together to present this remarkable Expo. It was an exciting day for both the appraisers and attendees alike. Together, we uncovered some hidden treasures while raising money for our Local Needs Fund and had fun hosting the Maplewood community.”

The event Co-Chairs Angel Calvosa and Caroline Gosselin both agreed, “With the popular success of the PBS series Antiques Roadshow, most of the general population was familiar with the format of an Appraisal Event. We were very excited to roll out this new event in our town and the best part is it was a win-win for all, said Caroline. "That's right", said Angel, "because many people had items in their homes that they wondered the value of and they were able to get a professional appraisal at the fraction of the cost that it normally would cost and it all goes to charity.”

Angel stated, “As a first time event, we had no idea what to expect and we were positively thrilled with the turnout – at the end of the day we sold about 80 tickets. We had a wonderful team of people helping us prepare this event and it turned out just lovely. We were very fortunate to have such high caliber appraisers volunteer for this event, they were the key ingredient to making this event successful.” She added “All in all, with such a dynamic team working on this event, it was well presented and ran smoothly, I think next year we will add some background music and perhaps it would be fun to have antiques that the attendees could purchase.”

The key ingredient was the time and expertise of the top notch professional appraisers, without them we would not be able to have the event, said Angel. “A big thanks to Nancy Marshall who was able to line up the appraisers for the event. We were blown away by the support of the Local Business who donated items and helped us promote this event. I strongly believe that not only did it take the entire Maplewood Rotary Club as well as Nancy’s expertise but it was the community’s participation that made this a successful event – thank you – Maplewood!”